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I lived in my pick up truck for half a year or so. I broke even by hauling things for people from A to B (need to be careful doing this as to not break federal motor carrier laws...). Driving around fairly expensive - if you drive all year, say 100k miles that's $15,000+ in fuel not to mention wear and tear on a vehicle, repairs, etc. Obviously you don't need to drive so much.
I imagine that doing this today is much different than even 10 years ago when I did it. Internet over your phone is available almost everywhere (if not wifi) so the ability to stay connected is a lot easier.
I lived in an F450 box truck for over a year then traveled/camped in it for several more.
I agree with Harry on the stealth camping for numerous reasons:
Last place I wanna be is an RV park or campground - people are elbow to elbow, restrictions on coming going at all hours, cost, noise, etc.
With stealth camper you can sleep for free every nite (and Walmart is cheating
No one harasses you if they don't know you're in there. There are plenty of places where an RV or obvious camper will draw police, criminals, bums, drunks etc
Good backup vehicle for disasters, civil unrest or just moving the camp when you want.
Downsides: After awhile the uniqueness wears off and the reality is you have no place to just hang out. How much time can you spend in Starbucks, home depot parking lot etc?
I found myself staying in motels more then decided it was best to rent a place for 6 months as a home base and explore from there.
I did this snowbirding between Montana & Arizona for several years.
Wish I would've gotten this back then, it would've saved me a lot of heartache and a quick failed marriage. I want a family more than anything and I realize something has to give, can't be on the road a bunch w/ wife and kids, the cost alone is prohibitive, not even mentioning the issues the kids would have.
For years I've wanted to just leave this rat race and just travel the country. I see all these retiree's traveling together w/ their special someones in their Winnebago's and they look so happy all the time.
I'm in my mid 30's and have had one career already and have recently begun to line up going for my 2nd career, but have considered doing this travel the US thing first cause I've got the itch so bad.
I live off interest from some investments so making money in places shouldn't be an issue.
Just want to hear from those that have or are living it, what's the life story of someone living this life?
Thanks
Chance
This family does it while traveling the world with little kids! The oldest is 12. In this video, "Ka Sundance" explains how they do it. They are currently renting in Costa Rica.
I had a job that kept me on the road (air) 3 weeks out of the month.
I was single and my territory was Earth and was pretty awesome actually.
Everything was paid for and I had friends I could call when in certain cities and had a few female friends as well scattered about. My only regret is that I did not spend more time exploring where I was at and taking more photos and video.
Why not find a job where you can be a company "Independent Rep" so you can write-off your travel expenses and get paid for living YOUR life?
I had a job that kept me on the road (air) 3 weeks out of the month.
I was single and my territory was Earth and was pretty awesome actually.
Everything was paid for and I had friends I could call when in certain cities and had a few female friends as well scattered about. My only regret is that I did not spend more time exploring where I was at and taking more photos and video.
Why not find a job where you can be a company "Independent Rep" so you can write-off your travel expenses and get paid for living YOUR life?
What jobs are those? My entire career has been spent in medicine first nursing license at 19 and bounced around from that to other related jobs. I was recalled to active duty in 2001 and my injuries prevented me from working in Nursing again so for atleast a decade now I've been trying to decide what's the best fit now.
For years I've wanted to just leave this rat race and just travel the country. I see all these retiree's traveling together w/ their special someones in their Winnebago's and they look so happy all the time.
I'm in my mid 30's and have had one career already and have recently begun to line up going for my 2nd career, but have considered doing this travel the US thing first cause I've got the itch so bad.
I live off interest from some investments so making money in places shouldn't be an issue.
Just want to hear from those that have or are living it, what's the life story of someone living this life?
Thanks
Chance
Its a lifestyle thats not for everyone, sounds good being carefree and just traveling around but for some it can get old real fast (read boring) and the need for home and familiarity becomes more important than staying in another campsite.
A few things to consider is what type of RV are you thinking of as new ones tend to be expensive and repairs on used ones can also be expensive.
Living this on the road lifestyle dont come cheap as campsites will run around $25 a night, most Rv's get terrible gas mileage and depreciation on Rv's can be substantial.
While stealth camping sounds good its usually done in a van that would get very tight if living in it full time and without an electric hookup for A/C and heating you'll roast in the summer and freeze in the winter.
Its the type of lifestyle i'd get into gradually starting with an economical used camper,then start going away for weekends, then weeks,if you are still into it after a year or two upgrade the RV,sell the house,dump the job and second star to the right and straight on till morning.
RV.net is a good resource for all things Rv.
PS. just noticed this topic was started in 2010, wonder if our op ever got to fulfill his dream?
Wish I would've gotten this back then, it would've saved me a lot of heartache and a quick failed marriage. I want a family more than anything and I realize something has to give, can't be on the road a bunch w/ wife and kids, the cost alone is prohibitive, not even mentioning the issues the kids would have.
So I'm laying roots for first time in my life.
I did it with husband and kids only we went round the world and spent a year doing it--slept in tents and did all our own cooking. It was not prohibitively expensive--was probably cheaper than staying home. I would recommend doing it with older kids--ours were 12 and 14 but I know of folks who did it with little bitties too. I mean, family life is family life, whether on the road or in a suburban neighborhood and now the girls are 19 and 21 and they swear it's the best thing they ever did and they don't regret one minute of it. We mixed up our activities a lot and had to miss some museums b/c of the overkill factor, but not once did we go to a Disney-type theme park either.
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